Tire size is either going to be 26" or 29", 26 is a standard mountain bike, 29 is standard road bike and oversized(but awesome) mountain bike

There are rear shocks that you can pre-load or lockout but having never owned a full suspension bike, I know very little about them. But to answer your question, yes it is possible.

 

From what little knowledge I know about biking, let alone mountain biking..

Mikey, if you get that bike fir $200-250... a good rear shock with lockout will cost the exact same amount (fox for instance), and maybe even more.

I tried to go your route when starting off road biking. But I quickly sold it. I would have spend 5x the amount just getting it up to par with today's decent road bikes (I bought it for $280). So I decided to sell it, and start with a decent used road bike that's literally ready to ride with no upgrades in the near future. I'm now looking to spend around $600-700

 

Do you still have the spring spacers from your S?

 

Well that's the thing...

The bikes I was looking at new were around $750, hard-tail. And none of them were overly light. I couldn't pick up any of the ones he showed me with a couple fingers even. Well, I could, but not with the same ease I could pick up the $1200 bikes with just my pinky.

So my thought is, if I get the Tribal thing posted originally (which the owner claims has been rode 4 times only, and he paid $700 last year), I can spend $150-300 on a decent rear shock, have the flexability of softtail and hardtail (with a little extra weight) and only spend $450-550.

I emailed original bike person to make that offer and we'll see what they say.

 

I'd look for a new bike, used.

Also, I don't know how important weight is for you. A heavier bike will be more effort to pedal and cart around, but if you're looking for exercise, that's not necessarily bad. If you were racing or doing long distance endurance rides you'd want a lighter bike, but you seem to be a casual rider, so a casual bike would work.

 

I'll be using it for fitness, which is exactly (as you mentioned) why I'm not concerned about the weight of the bike - within reason. I realize that if this becomes something that I get more serious about this year, I'd likely be interested in replacing anything I buy now with something that fits my needs better for next season.

That's the reason I'm kind of in favor of a soft-tail, as long as there's a way to avoid the compression of the shock when pedalling. I've been on soft-tails before where they flexed every time I put any pedal effort in, and hated it.

 

I bought a new Specialized Rockhopper for the same kind of riding you are looking to do last year for about $400. Its a decent, lightweight bike for in town riding and occasional trail use. If you do get a front suspension fork, make sure it locks out otherwise you will lose lots of momentum riding around town to the shock.

Rock Hoppers usually go for about $600 but look for a left over from last year on closeout. The frame they use was on the $2000 bikes just a few years ago, but now its considered old technology so they give it away. Its pretty light though.


EDIT: It looks like they are selling the 09 Rockhopper leftover for $500 right now. Its a great value for an entry level Mountain Bike, maybe you can use the link to get a price match or get one shipped if you like them.

http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/ride/product....offset=2&s_id=0

 

^ I've seen one of those for sale but the frame was too small

It's easier to buy a car than it is a bicycle - honestly. The problem that that each component can be replaced by some high-end one that can exceed the current value of the ENTIRE bike, That wouldn't happen with a car, putting a $60k turbo kit on.

So trying to figure out best value of the used bikes or the new bikes by tallying up the value and quality of each component (frame, forks, wheels, shifters, shocks, pedals, etc etc etc) is a serious challenge if you don't know lots about the stuff!

All the help here is much appreciated, thanks everyone!

 

I edited the post with a link. They make the bike in many sizes, what size did you try? While Rockhopper components are not the most high performance you can find, the bike is a solid value and what it comes with is pretty good quality.

I am also a fan of Fisher and Trek's.

If you look at used Rockhopper's I think they switched to the new frame on the 08's but I am not sure.

 

I didn't try it, came across an ad for a used one being sold locally but it was like a 16" or 17" frame or something. I can't remember the exact number, just when it says the owner outgrew it or it was replaced with a larger bike, I have assumed I'm probably too big for it.